How much of what we do in life is actually a choice? Perhaps in an isolated view of events, it can be argued that choosing something, such as pursuing a degree in the sciences, was a singular choice. However, I believe life is an accumulation of influences that drive us to the choices we make, some that we are aware of and some we aren't. I chose to pursue a degree in biology not just because I was presented with the choice the day I was enrolling in classes my freshman year. My decision was backed by a lifetime of experiences and influences that subconsciously fueled my passion for science, medicine, and research. Growing up, I knew the worth of a life is through its service to others, and I wanted to live a life that was filled with purpose, discovery, and overall, giving back to the whole of humanity as well as the individual. I saw many of the less fortunate lacking proper healthcare, education, even just lacking in the resources to communicate with a doctor, whether that be education or a language barrier. I always knew that I could have a positive impact in joining the field of science and medicine, to spread awareness for those in need and expand those fields through my experiences in research and hopefully, through volunteering as a doctor in areas where there are limited resources. As a scientist and an activist, I believe education is the most important tool a society can have and knowledge is the most dangerous weapon in the arsenal of an inidivual. I am passionate about spreading knowledge and dispelling misinformation in regards to science in modern society, so that individuals can make the best choices possible in regard to their own health, as well as their families. As a woman of hispanic origin, I know the stigma and misinformation that exists within the latino community. Distrust of science, doctors, enforced by the lack of resources available to better understand their health. I hope to bridge the gap in latino communities by using my future education as a doctor and as a researcher to better educate and connect individuals who previously did not have a way to communicate their needs. Through connecting with a physician and scientist who is similiar to themselves, connect with the diaspora, and understands the language, I hope that I can create a positive impact where more and more latinos, and anyone who I can connect with, can have better access to informing and taking care of themselves.

Being a first-generation students means representing of all the hard work and sacrifice my family has put into providing me with the opportunities I have today. Seeing the sleepless nights, long days, and discussions on how to provide have instilled in me a drive to never give up on my goals, no matter what obstacles come my way. Just as their determination to provide all the opportunities they never had never relented, I am determined to make the most out of all they were able to give me. Being a first-generation student also means braving a world that has never been explored by anyone in my family. I struggled through college applications, weighing the pros and cons of university vs community college, and pondering how to maximize savings while pursuing my degree. How do I sign up for classes? How am I supposed to choose them? Where do I get my textbooks? What is a syllabus? Higher education was a world unknown, and I struggled navigating. I made many mistakes in pursuit of my undergrad. I chose the wrong classes, thinking I could save money by taking more credits to transfer. I had no idea advisors were a resource provided to students in order to guide them in their academic journey. In both being a student and transitioning into my adult life, I struggled to balance work, school, and familial obligations. However, I knew that if the same family that overcame their struggles and allowed me the opportunity to be where I was could do it, there was no reason why I couldn't do the same. I pushed head-on, following the example provided by my family. I discovered my learning style and how to maximize my time to study and work, even when I was exhausted. I worked long days and studied even longer nights. I prioritized my health and wellness to keep myself safe from burnout. I looked to them for the example they provided; hard work is the tool to achieve our goals, as long as we put our minds to it. This scholarship could ease some of the financial burden that pursuing higher education entails. It will allow me to better focus on my studies and research, while having the ease of mind that my tuition is paid. This will allow me to move even closer to my goals of becoming a physician-scientist and fulfilling my dreams and the dreams of my family. They are the inspiration and push behind everything I do; they laid the blueprint I needed to dream big, work hard, and reach my goals. I could only hope to one day repay them for all that they have provided and instilled in me.

The body can do such amazing things, science has only just begun to understand the scope of what our bodies are capable of. A seemingly harmless bump or bruise can affect other aspects of our health we could not even imagine! How can we begin to understand what processes in our bodies affect each other, much less how to treat them? In knowing our limitations, one of the contributions I would want to make is the understanding of how our gut microbiome can affect the mental health of individuals. Bacteria, both good and bad, in our guts can have effects on our mental health, without us even realizing the problem! In researching and understanding the gut flora and its effects in mental health, we can begin to determine what foods or medicines can be used to better an individuals mental health based on consumption or avoidance! From our mouths to our guts and then to our minds, we can begin to find a variety of options for mental health care that were previously unknown to us!

Higher education was just as foreign to me as this country was to my mother when she initially came to this country. While my mother could never have imagined she would one day be residing in the United States, I always knew I would pursue my education far beyond what my family was able to achieve. My mother, sisters, and brothers emphasized the importance of education, how I could get farther than they could, allow me to have a good, comfortable job, and achieve the life I want. Despite their teachings, advice, and encouragement, I reached a point where they could not help me. The highest education my mother had achieved was middle school, my siblings' high school, and now I was entering a territory unknown to all of us. Stepping into the world of higher education, I was simultaneously excited, confused, and terrified. From applying to acceptance to choosing my classes and then setting foot on campus, the process of getting there was isolating in a way that I had yet to experience, something that I would soon have to get used to. I struggled to understand the most basic concepts, things that many of my peers looked forward to or prepared for were completely lost on me. My only exposure to university life was what was presented in movies and TV, bustling open campuses, cheerleaders, sports, clubs, and parties were all that I knew of university life. Concepts that I now understand, as simple as the abreviations of classes and credit hours, were a foreign language to me. This lack of knowledge and guidance in the workings of a university presented the biggest challenge. I did not understand how to choose my classes to best benefit my long-term goals, how to apply for scholarships, how financial aid worked, or where to even begin looking for help with these matters. Consequently, this resulted in many mistakes in my academic journey. I took classes I thought I would need, not knowing what was or wasn't necessary based on my major or what I would need to transfer. I took unnecessary classes and made mistakes, thus prolonging the pursuit of my bachelor's. While my journey in higher education was a confusing and isolating experience, there was something my family instilled in me that pushed me through my hardship. Hard work and perseverence were the greatest assets in achieving my dreams. No matter the setbacks I faced, no matter the confusion, the loneliness, I knew that picking myself and moving forward was the only way to become what I wanted to be, to reach the goals I had set for myself. After setbacks, struggles, but remembering the the values instilled in me, I was able to graduate with my bachelor's and now am eager to take all that I learned, my growth, and matuiry into the next phase into my life, pursuing my masters. Being a first generation student, my family may not have had the knowledge to guide me through my pursuit of higher education, but they did give me priceless insight, strength, and values that I will continue to carry with me throughout my academic journey.

Growing up, I always had belief in God, but I didn't have any particular way of believing. I just knew God existed. Eventually, as I grew up, my family thought it best to place us into a religious private school, to keep my niece and I out of trouble. In the community of youth in our city, my family was witness to a continued trend of teen pregnancy, youth drug abuse, and high school drop outs. There was a crisis, how to prevent these things from happening? My brother-in-laws solution was to place us into an Islamic private school he himself had attended. The perfect solution, my family was not very practicing in their catholicism, and trusted my brother-in-laws opinion of the school. So there we went. From the grades of 3rd through 12th grade, we grew and learned in this school. A standard curriculum of math, science, ELA, and art were combined with religious studies such as recitation, islamic history, and Arabic language learning. Here is where science and Islam were proofs of each other. The biggest and oldest argument for or against religion is the creation of the universe. Was it the Big Bang Theory or was it God? Islam teaches us that it is both. The Qur'an states that "the heavens and the earth were joined together as one unit, before We clove them asunder" (21:30). Following this big explosion, Allah "turned to the sky, and it had been (as) smoke. He said to it and to the earth: 'Come together, willingly or unwillingly.' They (the sky and earth) said: 'We come (together) in willing obedience'" (41:11). Here these verses of the Qur'an explain how the universe came about, from the commandment of God (Allah in Arabic) the universe came to be from "a cloud of smoke." Research from NASA has stated that the universe from the Big Bang was a a dust cloud in space. This is only one example of the science that is in the Qur'an, which was later proven with modern science. Another example being the Chapter that speaks about bees, how their function and behavior is a sign of higher power. However, what is most interesting is the language specifically used. In the original Arabic, when the bees behavior is described, the word bee is written gendered female. While this may seem confusing not a big deal at the time, science later showed that worker bees are actually all female, while drone bees are all male. Going to the topics of humans, the Quran describes the origin of humans from the womb. Chapter 96, verse 2 states: "He created man from a clot of blood." As stated previously, in ancient Arabia, this kind of understanding of the conception of humans was beyond the means of the science available. However, modern science has proven that a fertilized egg (zygote) becomes a ball of cells once it enters the uterus and attaches to the cell wall. There are many, many more examples that can be taken from the Quran that science has proven and vice versa, too many to write here. However, as someone who grew up interested in science and was curious as to how it tied into my faith, I can say that my religion has both aspects of science and spiritual faith that are intertwined to both answer the normal human doubts of a human mind, while also nurturing the faith of the individual. Learning the workings of our universe through the academic approach and seeing it reflected in my religious studies has strengthened my interest in science and my faith.

One of the earliest indicators of how much I loved science was due to my elementary school library. I remember rushing to the nonfiction section, looking for books about animals, space, plants, anything regarding the things that inhabit our world, or where we inhabit the universe. I devoured these, at the time, I couldn't stand to read nonfiction. I wanted to learn, to explore, and reading these science books was my way to do that. Over time, my interests expanded to different areas, I wanted to learned about astronomy, plants, the human body, animals, and finally, medicine. Medicine tipped the scales in what my main interest was, I remember as a child sitting with my mother, watching medical mystery shows, pondering over the human body and how amazing it was, as well as how scary. Since the earliest time I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor, but in what? I wasn't sure yet. Therein comes the most popular field of interest, forensics and criminology. Forensics stood out to me, it looks both the fascinating aspects of crime and legal work, while tying it into science! A dream come true for me. Forensics coupled with medicine is a simple equation. What I wanted to be was a Medical Examiner. The fascinating things a body can tell us, even after a person has passed, what is there more captivating than this? The body can tell us things that even the living person did not know about. Illnesses, aches and pains, even physical objects can sometimes be found in a body, while the person was blissfully unaware. A body can tell us the causes death, natural or unnatural. This is how forensic medicine aids in the solving of a crime. How did the person die? Were the injuries pre- or post-mortem? What were they doing before they died, where were they moved after they died? What was the position they stayed in? How long ago did they die? What weapons were used? All of these questions detectives ask, the answers stem from the work of Medical Examiners, who explore the body to find the what, where, and how! This is the career I plan to delve into wholeheartedly. Specifically, I am most interested in researching what more the body, and even the bones, can tell us! Unfortunately, after a body has decayed down to the bones, there is not much that can be said about the individual or what happened to them. However, bacterial microbiomes on the bones can tell us how long the bones have been exposed, indicating time of death! This research can bring closure to thousands of unsolved cases, where there was simply no body to recover information from. This is where my passion lies in the field of science, and how I plan to contribute to forensics and medicine!

Like many of our interests, they develop through the most common medium. Our friends. The summer of 2023 proved an interesting summer, filled with preparation for the next semester, applying to research, and reviewing our upcoming classes. Our study group kept very busy. We also had our fair share of relaxation, hangouts, and outings, got to know the newest members as well as they were getting to know us. One friend in particular, his love was rock climbing. He studies it, breathes it, lives for it. Everything he does is for his enhancement in rock climbing. His passion was bright and infectious! He showed us videos of his moves and explained to us the basics of climbing. Over time, I became more and more curious, until I finally decided to try it out. Luckily, this friend also had a job at the climbing gym, encouraging me to go and he would show me. I figured, "I'll try it out once, if I don't like it, well at least I had the experience once." That fateful day triggered a passion for it that surprised even me. I had never been so passionate about a particular sport the way I was about climbing. I pondered over routes, how to become stronger so I can carry myself better, higher, increasing my endurance. I began working out more in order to increase strength for rock climbing. It was truly something so fun and yet testing, both mentally and physically. I believe it brings a physical element to a mentally challenging sport, comparable to chess. I worked through the routes like a puzzle, trying, failing, reworking my methods until I completed a route. It was exhilarating. I maintain a steady schedule in order to continue rock climbing and to continue climbing through the grades (pun intended). I truly owe it to my friend for introducing me to the sport. Lastly, I will say that this scholarship will truly help me to continue my education with as little debt as possible, I plan on becoming a Medical Examiner and hope to be able to maintain a balanced lifestyle. School, health, and social life are very important for maintaining my life fulfilling and happy, and this scholarship can aid in being able to pay towards my education costs and relieving some of that stress off. It also allows me to open up my time for more rock climbing!

Since I was a child, I was keenly aware of the prejudices that society has held against marginalized groups. Of course, being a child, I did not know any of this terminology or its meanings. I simply knew, some people did not like other people due to the color of their skin, even though this dislike had no basis. "Why do some people not like others because of different skin color? We are all the same" I thought to myself. I often voiced this thought to my family, along with "Blue is not better than pink. Boys are not better than girls. We are all the same." "We are all the same." became a running theme in my formative years. I simply could not understand the biases some communities had against others. In my eyes, we are unique individuals, but fundamentally, we are all equal. As I grew older, I became more keenly aware of just how deep these biases can run, and how they harm us in ways we might not even think of. One of my most formative experiences was learning about the justice system, and how its prejudices run deep. Countless lives had been destroyed and lost due to individuals blinded by hate in powerful positions. One of the most famous examples in recent times is that of Trayvon Martin, who was fatally shot by police officer George Zimmerman. This was a case that rocked the nation and in my 11-year-old mind, was the first instance of modern-day prejudice that was allowed to happen in the justice system. Since then, I have made it my goal to pursue a career in Forensics in order to use science to bring justice to individuals wronged or harmed by the legal system. I plan on graduating with my bachelor's in Forensic Chemistry and then pursuing higher education as a Forensic Pathologist to hopefully bring undeniable facts to the Justice system. My goal is to work in areas riddled with racial discrimination and prejudice rampant in the legal system in order to bring more of a fair chance for the citizens of those communities. Communities especially filled with black or Hispanic individuals. As a first-generation student, I see the struggles these communities face every day in the United States, how often they go without justice due to rampant racism or simply the fear of being deported if they decide to trust the police. I hope to inspire individuals to rise up to use their educations in helping marginalized communities.

The dream version of myself is an individual who has achieved all their goals. My dream version of myself has graduated higher education up to the Ph.D. level and begun working in my local community. This version of myself has finally begun working in her dream career to dismantle injustices committed by biases that exist in the legal system through the use of forensic science. My dream version of my future self would use science to advocate for justice for victims who have been harmed by the justice system that may discriminate against them and or not believe them.

I plan to be the first in my family to attend and graduate from higher education. I am currently enrolled at Sam Houston State University, majoring in Forensic Chemistry. As a woman of color, a woman in STEM, and first-generation student, and an individual pursuing a career in a legal/crime work-related field, I hope to utilize my education to bring justice to individuals who have been wronged through the use of science. In our justice system, there have been numerous counts of unjust convictions, or simply, convictions that may have occurred through the lens of bias that still plagues us as a society. While opinions can be denied and argued, the art of science and scientific evidence is undeniable, and I hope to become a forensic scientist that can bring justice to individuals falsely accused, and those who try to evade the law. I intend to graduate from SHSU with a bachelor's in Forensic Chemistry, to then attend a Master's program that will allow me to further specialize in forensic science. I hope to one day work with my local police and forensic science institutes to gain more experience and begin a career in bringing justice to marginalized communities and victims. Being one of the first in my family to attend university and plan to continue beyond my Bachelor's degree, I alone support myself and my university funding. My family has lived paycheck to paycheck since they arrived here in the United States, and they have worked hard to provide the educational opportunities I have received thus far. Unfortunately, since I am the first to attend university, they did not know the financial hardship it would bring to be an individual pursuing higher education. My family was inadequately prepared for the costs that come with receiving a higher education. As I plan to pursue a Master's and eventually a Ph.D., I need any financial assistance I could receive. I work a part-time job to support myself and my studies and will be grateful for the aid I can receive to pay for my upcoming semester of study. As is required by my studies, I will also have to conduct research, as the aid I can receive from this scholarship will allow me to focus on my future work as some of the financial burden to be relieved. I hope that the aid I could receive will allow me more freedom to prepare for my studies.